Only a Game
by Cuteandgirly
Summary: Everyone suffers heartbreak, some more than others. For Denny, it's when he truly realizes that he's just part of a game. But when the game owner trades the cartridge in at Gamestop, Denny refuses to give up hope. Warning, contains OCxDenny shipping.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Where did she go?**

_I loved her. I loved the way she talked, the way she smiled, and the way she laughed. _

_Every day we'd go fishing, and I'd love her even more._

_Where did she go?_

Denny pressed his palms up against the glass screen of the DS system. He closed his eyes and sighed. It had been nearly a year since Mari had picked up her game to play. He missed her. Denny hopped down and back into the cartridge where Vaughn sat waiting.

"Still don't believe me?" Vaughn asked.

Denny shook his head. "She'll be back, I know it."

Vaughn sighed and stood up. "She's probably off playing dating sims; she's forgotten all about you. You're just a pile of pixels." He told the depressed clump of code.

Denny knew Vaughn was right, but his heart still hurt. Great big tears rolled down his sun-kissed cheeks and splashed on the sand below.

"Even a pile of pixels can love."  
Vaughn snorted at this response. "It's just a game. You were made to entertain her for a few short hours. The relationship's all over once she gets bored."  
Denny turned away and wiped his face. He took off his bandana and fixed his curly brown hair. "She'll come back," He thought to himself. "She hasn't forgotten me."

That night Denny waited anxiously by the screen for Mari to come and turn on her game. He missed the nights spent way past midnight. Just him, her, and the DS.

But Mari didn't come. Just when he was about to give up hope for the night, he felt the game move. Denny turned to look through the screen. There was Mari! His breath quickened with excitement, but then fear struck him as he realized something was wrong. Instead of turning on the game, Mari took the cartridge out. Denny was sucked back into it's coding, but he could still feel it shake as she carried it. What was she doing?

It seemed like an hour before the cartridge finally stopped shaking. He heard voices.

"It's as good as new."

"I'll give you $20 in store credit for it."  
"Alright,"  
_No, no, no! _Denny's heart shattered. Mari was selling the game! _No Mari, why?! WHY?_ Denny fell to his knees and began to sob. It felt like his heart was being torn into a thousand pieces. Vaughn walked up behind Denny.

"I told you. She's forgotten all about you."  
Denny buried his face in his hands and cried.

"Get over her. It's just going to happen again, and again, and again." Vaughn said looking nowhere in particular. "Again and again..." His voice cracked.

Denny looked up. "Is this why you're always so hostile?" He asked.

"I was programed to be this way." Vaughn said, narrowing his eyes.

"Are you sure about that?" Denny's eyes glistened with tears as he asked the question. Vaughn looked away and pulled his hat over his eyes.

Denny looked back down at the ground and whispered to himself the words Vaughn had said;

"It's all over once she gets bored."

Denny looked back up towards where the screen had been when the cartridge was in the DS.

He knew what he had to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**I'd risk my life  
**

_I didn't care what Vaughn said, I'd do anything for her.  
I'd risk my life. _

"I'm going." Denny said firmly.

"What?" Vaughn looked at him like he was crazy.  
"I'm going to leave the game." Denny looked at Vaughn. "I'm not letting her go."  
"Are you crazy?!" Vaughn quickly approached Denny and stared him right in the eyes. "We don't even know if it's possible! Besides, you can die out there!"  
"We can be deleted in here." Denny pointed out. "And it's worth a try."  
Vaughn shook his head. "But it's much easier to die than to be deleted. You're crazy!"  
Denny looked back up through the prongs on the cartridge. "I'm crazy in love."

The boy took a breath, closed his eyes, and then leaped up, flying out of the cartridge and converting into a data stream. For a moment he felt weightless as he left, and wondered how long it would take for him to convert into physical matter. Just as a tingling sensation began, he felt himself being sucked somewhere else. _Am I being sucked back into the cartridge? _He wondered. Suddenly, bright light flashed into his eyes. Denny raised his arm to shadow his face for a moment until his eyes had adjusted. He was in a small, grassy town with trees everywhere.

A little blond puppy approached him, glaring, and said, "What do you think you're doing here? We don't get this sort of download content."

"Huh?" Denny looked surprised, and he understood almost nothing that the puppy had said.

"You're a virus, aren't you?" The puppy's eyes grew wide. "Get out, get out or I'll call the anti-cheat on you!" It screamed.

"Hey, calm down! Just tell me where I am!" Denny cried, panicked.

"Get out, get out!" The puppy continued to yell.

"Look, I'll leave if you can tell me what game I'm in!" Denny had figured that much out. He definitely wasn't in Mari's world.

The puppy quit screaming and eyed him for a moment before finally replying, "You're in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Now get out, get out!"  
Denny obeyed and ran across the grass until he found where the program connected to the system. Oddly enough it wasn't a cartridge, but Denny didn't have time to think about that. He dived out of the game and to his surprise found himself in a huge chunk of code. This wasn't a DS, or a DS Lite. He knew that for sure. The wide open space was white, with many roads leading in all sorts of different directions, some horizontal and some vertical. Thousands of programs rushed by at once.

One green one flew right past him screaming, "StreetPass coming through! Get out of the way, StreetPass coming through!" Denny had to leap out of the way of the program, and it missed hitting him by only a byte.

The view was breathtaking, but Denny still didn't know where exactly he was. He began to walk down one of the less crowded streets until he bumped into an odd looking person.

"Excuse me," Denny said laying his hand on the program. "Would you mind telling me what system I'm in? I think I got transferred to the wrong place."

The person smiled before responding in a cheerful voice. "Oh, you're in a 3DS." It giggled as if Denny was stupid for not knowing that. "This one is owned by Marithepowerful."

Denny couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname Mari had given herself. He may not have made it into her world, but he was still with her at least.

After a few minutes, the lights began to turn off and one program yelled, "Everyone, return to your games! The system is shutting down." Over and over, the program yelled.

Denny panicked. What would happen if he was caught outside a game after the system shut down? Denny ran through the streets until he saw a cartridge. He dashed into it just as the last of the lights in the system turned off.

"Well, hullo!" A voice behind him said. "You're most definitely not a Pokemon."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Not everyone's mean  
**

_When I lived in that game, I didn't have many friends.  
_

_A lot of people didn't like me, I don't know why._

_But when I met Mari, all that changed, and I realized something._

_Not everyone's mean._

Denny turned around to see a boy standing with his hands on his hips, smiling at Denny. The boy's hair was brown and fluffy, and his eyes, which were also brown, glistened with merriment. The boy was wearing light grey jeans and a black tee-shirt, along with a snow white hat.

"Who are you?" Denny asked, somewhat surprised he had found someone who wasn't angry with him.

"The name's Jersh, I'm Marithepowerful's player character." the boy made a bowing motion and smiled again.

"Oh, my name's Denny." Denny made a face at Jersh's strange name. "Where am I?" Denny asked.

"Lavierre City- oh you mean what game." Jersh laughed when he saw the confused look on Denny's face. "Pokemon Y," He answered. "And now I hope you don't mind me asking, what game are you supposed to be in?"

Denny shifted uncomfortably. Would Jersh think he was a virus just like the little dog had? "I'm uhm...I'm from Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands." Denny looked down. "I'm not even supposed to be in this system."

Jersh raised his eyebrow. "Sounds like a story I want to hear."

Denny took a risk and explained the whole situation to Jersh, from being sold to looking for a cartridge to stay in. He only excluded the detail of his relationship with Mari. Denny wasn't sure what he might might think.

Jersh was quite for a few moments. Eventually he worked up the effort to say, "Well that's definitely interesting."

Denny nodded. "Vaughn- one of the programs in my game, thought I was crazy."

"Programs?" Jersh looked confused. "You mean the separate characters?"

Denny nodded. Jersh laughed. "Well, around here we call them scripts. But we haven't used that name for them in a long time, as it gets confused with events."

"Oh," Denny processed this new word. "Scripts...I've never heard that before."

"I'm not surprised." Jersh said with a twinkle in his eye. "No offense, but you're kind of outdated."

Denny chuckled, glad he was able to make a friend in this strange new system. "Well, I bet there are a lot of words we can't agree on." Denny said, wrapping up the conversation. "But what I need to know is how I can escape the system."

"Why?" Jersh asked, tilting his head. "Your game was sold. Why don't you just stay here? It's a lot nicer, I could even give you your own Pokemon."

"Because I believe it is possible for me to be in Mari's realm." Denny answered with a sigh. "I've gone so far to be with her, I can't give up now."

"Why are you so loyal?" Jersh asked, moved by Denny's words.

"Because..." Denny choked up for a moment, face flushing pink. "...I love her."

"Eh, I don't blame you." Jersh shrugged despite Denny's shyness about it. "I think everyone loves their game owner. Besides, Mari's hot." Jersh lifted his hands when Denny gave him a look. "Hey! Don't worry. You can have her." He laughed. Denny let a small smile creep on his face.

"You know, I might be able to help you sneak out of the game." Jersh tapped his chin. "I mean, it'd probably best to wait until Mari's afk, going to the bathroom or something."

Denny didn't know what 'afk' meant, but he nodded, figuring it meant 'busy'.

"Yeah...I think we might be able to do this." Jersh folded his arms and smiled. "I'd probably even come with you, but I have this fear of moving through code. I'm always scared my data stream will be interrupted and I'll be lost. I don't even leave to explore the system."

"I can see how that would be scary." Denny nodded. "Anyway, when are we going to do this?"

Jersh smiled. "Tomorrow, during her daily routine."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**When dreams come true  
**

_That exciting moment full of joy.  
_

_That thrill that pulses through your veins._

_I love it._

_I love it when dreams come true._

"Alright," Jersh called Denny out of hiding. "She's gone, do your stuff."

Mari had set the 3DS on the counter in her room while she ran to go to the bathroom. It was morning, and Denny still felt like he had a low battery as Jersh dragged him over to the screen of the system.

"Go, quick! Before she gets back!" Jersh urged. "Also, give her a kiss for me."

Denny blushed as he walked over to the screen. "I will,"

"Make it a juicy one!" Jersh added with a mischievous grin on his face. Denny ignored that last remark and looked up through the screen. His heart palpitated with excitement, and his breathing became shallow.

_On the count of three,_ he thought to himself as Jersh urged him to hurry.

_One..._ Denny tensed his muscles.

_Two..._ He closed his eyes.

_Three!_ He leaped up through the screen, converting into a data stream.

The tingling sensation was overpowering, and it felt like he was floating in emptiness. It seemed like an eternity had passed by, and Denny wondered if he would be stuck like this forever when he noticed a faint humming noise. The blackness of his vision began to become a light gray, and shapes started to form. Denny couldn't feel his limbs, and he didn't dare try to move them lest it interrupt the transformation taking place. That same tingling feeling continued to pester him and he felt like he might crash. Finally, after a long time of waiting, he felt the transformation complete. Denny had become 'real'. He was awestruck. Looking around the room, he could see so many details, like everything was rendered at the highest definition. He could feel textures, but in a way he never thought possible. He didn't just register them being there, he could FEEL them. Denny turned to see where the humming sound was coming from. On the counter was a small fish tank. The humming had been coming from the filter. Denny stooped down to observe the little creatures swimming about in the water, when he noticed a black box on the counter a few inches away. Denny grinned as he picked it up and looked at the screen. It was the 3DS. He could see Jersh standing still in the center and he waved. Jersh waved back and Denny laughed. Joy flooded his heart, and he suddenly became so much more excited. He was real! 'I'm finally real...' Denny heard footsteps nearing the door. Panicked, he felt the unexplainable urge to hide, so he did so under Mari's bed. A large woman with auburn hair walked into the room and held her nose. She left almost immediately and yelled,

"MARI! Your aquarium STINKS!"

Denny couldn't help but chuckle. The fish tank was a perfect excuse for his overwhelming scent of salmon. Crawling back out from under the bed, he started to wonder when Mari would be back for her game. Just when he was about to exit the room to look for her, he heard a gentle but shocked voice ask,

"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**A loss for words  
**

_I finally had made it, I finally got to see her face to face.  
_

_But then I didn't know what to say.  
I was at a loss for words._

Denny turned to see a slender Caucasian girl with long brown hair and dark brown eyes staring at him with her mouth wide open in shock.

"Wow...you're white." The words left Denny's mouth without him even thinking about it.

"_Excuse me?_" The girl asked, eyebrows pinched and eyes glaring.

"Oh, that's not what I meant!" Denny clapped his hand over his mouth. "I just thought you'd be a little darker."

The girl opened her mouth even wider, and her eyes seemed fiery. "Just who are you again?" She asked. Her voice showed how offended she was.

"You don't recognize me?" Denny felt disappointed. She really had forgotten all about him. "It's me, Denny."

The girl tilted her head and pondered for a moment before her eyes lit up. "From Harvest Moon?" She then shook her head. "That's impossible. Get out of my house, creep." She took a few steps away from the door and motioned to it.

"Mari, wait, I can explain."  
"How do you know my name?!" Mari tensed up and her voice threatened that she would scream for help.

"Mari, I really am Denny. You sold my game, but I came back. I didn't want to leave you." Denny pleaded silently for her to give him a chance.

"Either you're a stalker, or a hallucination." Mari crossed her arms. "And I haven't been doing drugs, so, HEL-"

Denny dashed over to Mari and covered her mouth with his hand. "Stop! Just give me a chance!"

Mari struggled and tried to wriggle free, but Denny was strong and held her still.  
"I'll let go if you just _please don't scream_." Mari stopped struggling, but her breathing was still swift with fear.

"Look," Denny said, letting go of her, "I know we're off to a bad start-"  
Mari screamed at the top of her lungs. "HELP THERE'S A STALKER IN MY ROOM!"

Denny panicked and ran over to the counter, picking up Mari's 3DS.  
"Jersh, you have to help me out man! Please, tell her I'm not lying!"

The screen remained the same, as if it was just a regular old game.

"Jersh, I need your help now!"  
Denny could hear footsteps from upstairs hurrying down towards the room.

"Jersh, please!" Denny shoved the 3DS into Mari's face.  
"Look! Look, I'm telling the truth!"

Mari stopped screaming for a moment to look at the game, and her eyes widened with astonishment.

A little text box at the bottom of the screen had popped up along with Jersh staring intently through the screen, lips moving.

The text read,

"He's telling the truth."

Mari gasped in several breaths before looking at Denny.

"Hide."

Denny dove under Mari's bed as the large woman from earlier came in: Mari's mother.

"What is it Mari? A stalker? What? Where?!" Mari's mother was obviously panicked due to her daughters screaming.

Mari quickly covered her face and pretended to cry.  
"There was a _spider_ running towards me on the floor," She lied, trying to get her mother to believe she had misheard.

"But you didn't come down fast enough and I had to kill it myself." Mari let out fake sobs as her mother embraced her.  
"Sweetie, you need to learn to just kill them yourself all the time. What if the police had come?"

"I'm sorry," Mari sniffled.

Once her mother had left, Denny came out from under the bed.

"A spider? Really?"  
"Hey, I have arachnophobia and I had to find _something _that sounded like 'stalker'." Mari shrugged.

"Anyway," Her voice trailed off as she looked back at the 3DS screen. Jersh was grinning and another text box was at the bottom of the screen reading,

"Don't forget the kiss, you promised."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Time together  
**

_No longer did_ _a simple screen keep us apart._

_Now we could become real friends._

_Now we could spend our time together._

Denny knocked on Mari's bedroom door. It was now Sunday morning, and he wanted to spend his first day in this realm completely with Mari.

There was no reply, so Denny slowly opened the door. Mari was sitting on the floor with her 3DS. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Good morning. I was just chatting with Jersh."  
Denny felt a pang of jealously in his side. Mari had seemed more interested in Jersh than Denny's becoming real.

"'Morning. Hey, it's Sunday so...do you want to hang out somewhere?" Denny looked down. The moment seemed so awkward, and he didn't want Mari to get any wrong ideas.

"Sure!" Mari turned off the game and walked over. "We should go swimming in the river down at the park. It's supposed to get in the 90s today."

Denny smiled, his cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink. "Alright. Lets go."

As they walked down the neighborhood to the park, Mari stayed very quiet.

"Is something wrong?" Denny asked, turning his head to look at her.

"Oh no," Mari responded quickly. "I'm just thinking. If it was possible for you to come out of your game, would it be possible for other characters to come out of their games?"  
Denny stopped walking and stared at her. His face flushed red and he started to become angry.

But Denny hid those feelings as he replied, "I'd think so. Why? Do you want Jersh to become real? Sorry, but he told me he's afraid to." Denny's voice became sharp with that last sentence, but Mari didn't notice.

"Actually, I was thinking of an older game. One on the Gameboy Color."  
Denny looked questioningly at Mari. He had very little idea what a Gameboy Color was, and much less if a character could come from a system that old.  
"I don't know." He finally replied with a shrug. The two continued walking until they reached the river.

Mari laughed and splashed Denny.

"Stop! You're going to scare all the fish away!" He complained, teasingly.

"Whatever. You don't have a net, and I highly doubt you could catch one with your bare hands." The twinkle in Mari's eye made it seem like a dare.  
"Oh yeah?" Denny put his hands on his hips. "Watch me!"

He knelt down and became very still, waiting for a fish to swim by. His eyes followed a trout that was floating down stream. Cautiously and very slowly, Denny shifted positions, ready to grab the fish. Just as it came into range, he shot his arms forward to grab it.

Everything flashed white, and then black, and then pixelated for a moment. Denny fell onto his rear in the stream, holding his head.

Mari quickly hurried over to him. Her face was white. The whole bet about the fish had been forgotten.

"What...what happened?" Denny groaned, looking up at her.  
"I don't know," Mari's voice trembled. "For half a second, you just disappeared."  
Denny felt the blood drain from his face and he started to feel sick.

"Disappeared?! What do you mean disappeared?" He croaked.  
"I don't know! That's what it looked like," Mari covered her face.

Denny stood and put his arms around her.  
"I'm fine..." He said with a reassuring tone.

_Something's wrong._ He thought, heart filled with fear.


End file.
